Controversy over the Pope's praise of Italian bishop who allegedly covered up sexual abuse

Controversy over the Pope's praise of the Bishop of Piazza Armerina who allegedly covered up sexual abuse

The trial of the priest Rugolo accused of aggravated sexual violence against minors is being held in Enna, other episodes involving catechists in the diocese

The Pope, in the audience with the Piccola Casa della Misericordia Association of Gela (Caltanissetta), praised the bishop of Piazza Armerina, Monsignor Rosario Gisana: "Well done, this bishop, well done. He was persecuted, slandered and he was firm, always, just, a just man. For this reason, that day when I went to Palermo, I wanted to stop first in Piazza Armerina, to greet him; he is a good bishop", said the Pope.

Last July, a catechist from Gela was sent to trial for alleged abuse of a minor. According to the investigations, coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office and conducted by the Caltanissetta Flying Squad and the Gela Police Station, started in 2022, the alleged victim had informed the bishop of the abuse she had suffered. A statement that has always been rejected by Monsignor Gisana.

Child abuse, Don Rugolo in the courtroom: "I am innocent". And he plays the bishop's audio recordings recorded without his knowledge

The thorniest case

The judicial case of the Gela catechist sent to trial is not the only judicial case in the diocese of Piazza Armerina. The trial of Don Giuseppe Rugolo, the Enna priest accused of aggravated sexual assault on minors, is being held in front of the Enna court. The hearing is now in its final phase and the first instance judgment is expected in January. In the meantime, the priest has denounced all the journalists who have covered his case.

The reaction of the alleged victim

"A few hours after the prosecutor's indictment and the discussion of the civil parties, in the trial of the priest Giuseppe Rugolo, accused of aggravated sexual violence against minors, and which arises from my complaint, the note from the Vatican press room in which Pope Francis weaves the praise from the bishop of Piazza Armerina, Rosario Gisana, hurts as well as makes you think." Speaking is Antonio Messina, the young man who reported Don Giuseppe Rugolo for the violence he suffered.

"This bishop – says Antonio Messina – is the same one intercepted while he talks to Rugolo and says he covered everything up". Antonio Messina renews his request to be able to speak with Pope Francis. "Holy Father I turn to you again to ask you to receive me. I would like to speak to you and tell you, documents in hand, what is happening in the diocese of Piazza Armerina. If it is true that the trial of the catechist from Gela will open thanks to the perseverance of two lawyers, that of Enna will end with the sentence on January 10th."

The other cases in the diocese

There is also the case of another catechist from Gela. The man, after the victim's complaint, was removed from the Salesian church and is now accused before the Assize Court of Caltanissetta. After the alleged sexual abuse, the victim had a depressive state and told her parents everything.

Child abuse, Don Rugolo in the courtroom: "I am innocent". And he plays the audio of the bishop recorded without his knowledge

The Enna priest at the stand first responded to questions from the civil party, the defense, the prosecutor and the president of the court

"I am innocent" said Don Giuseppe Rugolo, the priest accused of aggravated sexual violence against minors. And to strengthen his position he played the audio of the bishop of Piazza Armerina, Rosario Gisana, recorded without his knowledge, "Dear Giuseppe, for you there are all the conditions to become a Saint", Monsignor Gisana said to the priest in the dock today. Some excerpts from that recording, made by Rugolo himself after he had been transferred to Ferrara and removed from Enna, were listened to in the courtroom where the trial is underway.

As mentioned, Rugolo continued to profess his innocence and defended himself by saying that the thousands of frames and photographs of a sexual nature, which also portray very young people, stored on his computer, would have been the result of a sort of test, which he would have independently attempted submit, to try to understand himself. "The pages opened by themselves and even when I tried to close them I couldn't"

Elusive answers

The priest first answered the questions of the civil plaintiff, the defence and those of Prosecutor Stefania Leonte and President Pitarresi, who several times during the hearing pointed out to the defendant that he was evading the questions.

Among the parts of the recording, another passage was also played in the courtroom in which the bishop allegedly told Rugolo that there was another priest in the diocese 'who did much worse things than you did'. Rugolo, in the course of the conversation, repeatedly invited the bishop to tell his personal story, suggesting that there would be many points of contact with his own.

The bishop sent him the papers

During the hearing, it also emerged that Rugolo used vulgar language in chats with boys, which he said was the result of student spirit. To try to clarify why he had a copy of the victim's complaint to the diocese on his computer, the priest explained that he had received all the papers from the bishop's secretary.

The verdict is expected to arrive by next November.

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